As automotive wiring becomes more complex, there is continual pressure to reduce electric cable and electrical connector sizes. Connector contact areas can be reduced by use of well known gold dot contacts that are arranged in a closely spaced, high density array on a printed circuit. For instance, thirty-six (36) gold dot contacts one millimeter (1.0 mm) in size can be arranged on two millimeter (2.0 mm) centerlines in three rows of twelve contacts each resulting in an electrical connector having a foot print of about 33.8 mm by 11.7 mm at the gold dot contact end.
In order to take advantage of the size reduction and compact arrangement of the gold dot contact array, present proposals use very small electric cable in the thirty (30) gauge size range for the electrical connector. Such small electric cable sizes are difficult to work with and attach to the contact pads of the printed circuit particularly in high volume production. Consequently, there is a need for an electrical connector that has a high density array of gold dot contacts on a printed circuit that can be used with larger electric cable, for instance, cable in the twenty-four (24) gauge size range.